Housing Commission Minutes
October 12, 2004
Present: Rayna Caplan, George Georges, Avram Kalisky, BJ Scheff, Bryce Wolf
Minutes: The minutes of September 28 were approved.
Minuteman Commons: Wolf reported that the developers will meet with the Planning Board tomorrow night (10/13), mostly to review engineering and site plan issues. The project documents are undergoing review by town counsel Kathleen O’Donnell. Most items are boilerplate, but the issue of who will monitor and manage resales is yet to be determined. Scheff will contact DHCD about whether or not we must accept the allocation of the only 2nd floor walk-up unit as affordable. It was not known whether the legislation enabling the property to be restricted to 55+ has been signed. Wolf will check at the Planning Board meeting.
The overall issue of monitoring and maintaining the town’s stock of affordable housing options was briefly discussed. Scheff will begin to explore some of the issues with Tim Higgins. Might a part-time employee be required at some point in the future? An outside contract? It was observed that no current town employee is available to assume these additional duties.
Tower Road homes: Earl Midgely stated that he has authorized some minor repair and cleaning at 65 Tower Rd., but the property is in good shape. It doesn’t require deleading and has a new heating system, cabinetry, etc. Funding for this property will not be included in the CPC proposal. Final painting at 75 Tower Rd. is underway but not yet complete.
Lincoln Foundation: Scheff will attend tonight’s Lincoln Foundation meeting, and will discuss the issue of monitoring at Minuteman Commons. Fundraising to complete the Sunnyside Lane project will also be explored. Scheff’s draft proposal to the Lincoln Foundation was approved.
Sunnyside: There was some discussion regarding the difficulty of identifying an architect willing to donate time toward these units. Talks will continue, but it seems likely that we will need to pay for these services.
State of the Town Meeting: Although the Commission will not present at this meeting, most members are planning to attend. Some attempt will be made to put together a projection of future housing need, although largely it seems to be a result of slow incremental growth. Hanscom’s future is a wild card, and we don’t know whether the affordable units at Battle Farm will be counted double under new state formulas.
Co-housing: At the request of a local realtor, the Commission briefly considered the idea of co-housing (a building scheme whereby residential units are constructed around a common core shared by all in a cooperative). Overall, opinion was largely neutral regarding the concept, but it was observed that few parcels of land remained in town of sufficient size to support such a development.
At Risk Properties: Scheff will serve on the Selectmen’s At Risk Property Committee, which will consider future prospects for such properties as Farrington, among others.
CHAPA Meeting: Caplan, Scheff and Wolf will attend the upcoming CHAPA meeting in Worcester.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 a.m.
The next meeting will be October 26, at 7:30 a.m.
| 
